SCOOP 2012: Deeb, Blom, and the state of play

I'm not going to lie. This is the weirdest Spring Championship of Online Poker I've ever witnessed. When it started, PokerStars guaranteed $30 million in prize money. That guarantee is now just a happy little memory. The first week of events crushed the promised prize minimum. Through 21 events, the total prize pool was $32,599,494. And we still have a week and a main event to go. I mean, it's like silly season started a few months early.

So, it's a popular festival. No doubt about that. But just because a lot more people are playing doesn't mean that the stars have grown dim. Quite the contrary, in fact. Longtime online grinder Shaun Deeb has taken over SCOOP and is trying to rename it after himself. He's crushing the Player of the Series overall leaderboard, has become the second person to have three SCOOP watches, and is showing no signs of letting up. Meanwhile, Viktor "Isildur1" Blom is following much the same course. He's won two titles this year and is locked in a fight with Deeb for the Player of the Series title.

With all of that said, if you want a clearer picture of how crazy this is getting, look at the top ten players of the Day 2 field of yesterday's $2,100 NLHE Event 20-H. Not only does it feature Team PokerStars Pros Ivan Demidov and Jonathan Duhamel, but just gaze upon the fifth and sixth positions on that top ten list.